GOBESHONA GLOBAL CONFERENCE 4

People’s Planning for Climate Change Adaptation in Coastal Towns of Bangladesh

At the fourth annual Gobeshona Conference, the local leaders and champions from the four coastal towns –  Mongla, Patuakhali, Kuakata and Burhanuddin where GCA is working, will discuss about the locally led planning process, share lessons learned and challenges faced.

Event description

Coastal cities and towns are at greater risk of climate change. In Bangladesh, this risk is heightened by high levels of poverty, the limited capacity of urban local governments to address vulnerability, and the lack of public services and risk reducing infrastructure – particularly in low-income informal settlements. These cities also attract a significant number of migrants from nearby climate vulnerable hotspots. Unless this growth is inclusive and carefully planned, it could lead to a burgeoning of climate vulnerable informal settlements that lack adequate risk reducing infrastructure.
 
The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) is working with BRAC, the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centers (SPARC), and the International Center for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) to support the development of People’s Adaptation Plans in Mongla and three cities under the Asian Development Bank financed Coastal Towns Climate Resilience Project (CTCRP) –  Patuakhali, Kuakata and Burhanuddin, to inform investments under the project and reduce the vulnerability of the informal settlements. The development of People’s Adaptation Plans involves a locally led process in which the communities are capacitated to assess their our climate vulnerability; conduct a detailed house to house enumeration in the most vulnerable settlements and identify priority investments to reduce climate vulnerability.

At the fourth annual Gobeshona Conference, the local leaders and champions from the four towns will present their Adaptation Plans and discuss their work, lessons learned, and challenges faced.